Brain Facts

31 Mar Brain Facts

Did you know?
Neurons typically fire 5 – 50 times a second, with millions and even billions of them pulsing in harmony with each other many times a second; the electrical currents of that pulsing are revealed as brain waves in an EEG.

In the half second it takes you to clap your hands, billions of synapses have activated in your brain.

Most brain activity is lightning fast and forever outside of awareness. The slower, more congealed turgid stuff that we call thought is just the observable tip of an iceberg of lightning quick electrical, chemical – and possibly quantum – activities.

In the deepest sleep, and even in such a deep coma that artificial life support is needed, the brain is always humming away, always “on,” with billions of neurons firing every minute, in order to keep your body alive and ready for immediate survival activities.

Consequently, your brain – about 2% of the weight of a typical person – consumes about 20% of the oxygen and glucose circulating in your blood.

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What do you find fascinating about the brain? What would you like to know more about? Leave your comments below and let me know!

Niamh Mooney

I think the individual experience comes from consciousness rather than consciousness coming from somewhere. It exists in no-place and creates place to experience the idea of existence because non-existence can’t be. I certainly cannot comprehend that notion and nor can consciousness, which is who I truly am. As are you and hence yes there is of course a shared experience because we are all coming forth from the same one consciousness – the totality of all there is.